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The Dragon and the Harpist

I raised my head to the sound of footsteps. The harp falls silent. " Yes, someone has finally gotten past the witches trap my silent friend. One of us will be free." A few harmonious notes were played. " And I would say the same to you word for word." It has been over a thousand years sense the witch stole my sight and trapped me to guard her other prisoner. Everything in the room had the effects of time stopped on them and we never age, hunger or even bare child as I was pregnant when I was tricked. " It has been nice knowing you. Even under such conditions." She strikes a single wondrous note as the door opens. The chains around her waist rattle as a blade was drawn. " Go ahead. I wish for death as much as I wish my freedom. I only ask that you hear me out first. And do not let the door close!" There was some quick movement to stop it. I hear a few notes of relief. Then I head him say, "It will not shut." I made myself as presentable as I could with my shoulders covered in stone. " Thank you good knight, peasant, prince, bandit,or whatever you are. Now we will be able to leave here, but first in the next room is a magic key for her bonds. If you retrieve it you can set the virgin beauty free and she will love you unconditionally and bare you many children. The curse she is under will be broken and she will speak in a heavenly voice with no match." There was a moment pause before I heard the harp again. " Very well I'll tell him. I could never deny you. If you choose to set me free I will lead you to untold riches. Greater then any kingdom. I shall serve you heart, body, and soul. My unborn children will be warriors to guard you and whatever land you own or choose to and that of your descendents I will share my life with you for a thousand years." I hear him move closer to us before responding, " That is an interesting offer dragon. What is the catch?" I look toward the voice. " I must have the key. In freeing myself it will be destroyed. Then there will be no way of freeing her." I hear him start to rock back and forth on the heels of his feet. "On one hand I'll have unimaginable wealth and power with a vastly long life. On the other a beauty of such purity I would be the envy of all for her total love of me." I outstretch my neck toward him and said, "Please set her free and cut my head off before you leave. Then gut me and destroy my unhatched young. I ask for that mercy." He takes a step back and some very harsh notes were played. " What does she with for?" I hear him ask. I hesitated before answering. She played another note before I did, " For you to set me free and I think take her virginity. As I understand it that will set the curse she is under into full effect. She will have a thousand years of age thrust upon her in moments. She will turn to dust." He moves to the door in the back of the room and sits down to think on his decision. I hear wonderious notes play. " And I hope he chooses you. My friend in captivity. Soon one of us will be free." Sweet notes. "And I deserve to hear you voice. Such a voice that no creature would deny it. That is how I was captured. That and the witch blinded me." The man speaks up, " What do you mean?" I look toward him blindly and said, " She was a princess of some land likely gone by now when the witch stole her and took her voice. A voice so gentle and sweet even the most evil man will have his heart warmed by hearing it or crushed if it was sad, or in my case tame the most savage of beasts to a point of becoming a kitten. If I saw the source of the voice I could have broken the spells she put me under. Yet she was smart and blinded me first. She asked me to guard her from those that wished to harm her and I could not deny her. So for twelve years I was her faithful guard and that of the harpist that is when I started noticing the notes were being placed had a voice behind them. It did not take me long to figure out the truth. I found out that the voice I have been listening to belongs to her. So I attacked the witch in hopes of freeing us but I was not successful. I know I dealt a lethal blow to her but she cursed me in stone and fled threw the door you are leaning against right now. For over a thousand years we have waited to be freed for this eternal torment. Now you are here." I stop talking and he stood up again. I had a troubling thought. " One last warning. Those are the witch's private quarters. She entered there after I attacked her. The last act I know of she doing is binding me here but she may have done others. She had no further defenses after me but that may have changed. Take caution from now on." I hear the door open. " Thank you dragon. I will heed your warning." He enters the witch's private quarters and a very loud screech of death moments later. I could move and see again. Somehow the spells I was under were broken. The first thing I did was move by the harpist and let her stroke my nose. "Yes, we are free. Let us wait for our savior." I gently broke the bonds that held her in place and started moving long unused muscles. Luckily not cramped because of the affects of the room. Then he came back with the witches head and threw it on the ground. "She was not dead. Just to weak to do anything but sleep. So I took her head." The harpist speaks, " You have set us both free. Ask it and it is yours." I bowed down. " Yes, ask for it and we shall give it. What is it that you wish for." He put a hand on both of us. " I am heir of the largest kingdom in the world. The most powerful and richest. I already have a wife and three children. I came here to rid the world of an evil and hopefully be remembered for it." Me and the harpist look at each other and laughed then we turned back to him as she said, " A song that will go unmatched and a story to be told by dragons as long as they live. We can do that." I remove a scale from my side. " A gift. If you put that scale to your ear you will hear the song she makes and If you talk to it I will hear what you say. However it will take a year or two for the song to be sung. We wish to enjoy our freedom and find a new home. Also me to lay my eggs. You have our eternal gratitude" So they went their own ways. After over a year from returning home a song could be heard in every corner of the man's kingdom and shortly after that young dragons started telling of a man who wished for nothing but to be remembered.